A company with close ties to President Donald Trump's former chief strategist was hired by the United Arab Emirates to launch an anti-Qatar social media campaign, according to recently published reports.

SCL Social Limited disclosed a $330,000 contract with the UAE for "a wide range of services specific to a global media campaign", shortly after Steve Bannon resigned from the White House in August, according to Foreign Agents of Registration Act records, as reported by The Sacramento Bee.

The company shares the same ownership and leadership as Cambridge Analytica, where Bannon is believed to retain a stake valued at between $1 million and $5 million, and which was used by Trump during his presidential campaign to reach voters through targeted emails and social media posts.

Records show the company had a social media campaign budget of $75,000 to peddle anti-Qatar ads to non-governmental organisations, foreign diplomats and specific reporters across Facebook, Twitter, Google AdWords, YouTube and Outbrain.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt announced in June that they had cut all relations with Qatar, accusing Doha of ties to Islamist fundamentalists and Iran.

Qatar has categorically denied the allegations and has rejected the conditions of a proposed settlement to the diplomatic and economic boycott. 

Since then, multi-million dollar efforts by the blockading countries have targeted Qatar in an attempt to isolate it in a bid to force it into submission.

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